DRIFT – an interactive game about climate change

Help find Mama Penguin's missing babies after the iceberg split.

Romy L., Cori O.

DRIFT is an interactive game about climate change in which you have to find 5 baby penguins after their iceberg split. We used Unity3D and C# (which were not in the GWC curriculum). It was initially supposed to be a VR game but due to lack of resources, we were not able to implement it.

Climate change is a pressing issue with detrimental effects. Though many are aware of it, little action is taken to combat it. Living in Miami Beach, we can see firsthand how climate change is affecting our environment. This issue will only continue to worsen, therefore we decided to raise awareness.

Rather than news and social media updates that are often ignored, a game is a unique and impactful way to spread a message. Through the game, we show how climate change is affecting wildlife in the Arctic by displaying how animals are being displaced.

Considering the fact that Unity3D and C# are not in the Girls Who Code curriculum, it was extremely difficult and arduous to create our game. We had to watch several tutorials to complete our project and several of these tutorials were outdated and therefore ineffective. We had also worked on the project as a VR game but later had to change compatibility to cope with the lack of resource, which meant changing the whole game.

"This game is so cool! I love the concept!" -Ibis Fonte (Teacher at GWC SIP)

We are both rising juniors at Miami Beach Senior High School. We joined Girls Who Code to test our interest in computer science; we have quickly realized this is something that we are passionate about. We are passionate about climate change, social justice, and STEM.

This project was made by Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program students at Knight - MDC - Ada Lovelace.